Erland Cullberg

Johan Erland Cullberg (5 April 1931 – 13 April 2012) was a Swedish artist. He lived and worked in the city of Sollentuna, Sweden. He was the son of Eva Carin Maria Virgin (who worked in a manner similar to a Chinese "barefoot doctor") and Bishop John Cullberg, a professor and theologian. His siblings are Johan Cullberg, professor, researcher and author of psychiatry, and Staffan Cullberg, former head of the Swedish National Arts Council. Cullberg studied from 1955 until 1957 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and also at Valand Art Academy in Gothenburg in 1956. During this period, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Cullberg termed his condition as "a widespread mental cold". Cullberg also studied under and maintained a friendship with the artist Evert Lundquist who is considered to be a central figure in Swedish art. Cullberg has continually been represented in various national and international auctions during his lifetime, and since his death, however, his works have recently garnered renewed interest culminating in the highest auction records to date. In 2021, Cullberg's "Red Figures", a large scale and richly colored work, reached a world record for the artist. Similar records have been achieved since 2020.